Nova wondered what it would feel like to have her soap-covered hand running across his bare skin. His pulse leaped and he closed in on those luscious lips.
“Molly, your guests are ready for their tour.” Gabe McGregor swung the kitchen door open and backed through, carrying a tray of mugs and glasses.
With great reluctance, Nova stepped away from Molly.
“I’ll be right there.” Molly’s gaze dropped from his and she went back to work, scrubbing furiously at the already clean dish.
Nova faced the intruder.
Gabe grinned when he spotted Nova and Molly. “Ah, Casanova, thanks for helping out. I should have jumped up when you did. Molly always seems so capable, I forget she could use an extra hand now and then.” Gabe set the tray on the butcher block in the middle of the kitchen. “Why don’t you two take a break while I finish up the dishes?”
Molly refused to look up as she rinsed a pot and reached for a towel.
Gabe handed one to Nova. “I’ll be right back with the last of the glasses, then I’ll finish up the dishes.” He pointed at his sister. “No excuses.”
“You heard the man. No excuses.” Nova took the pot from Molly, dried it and then dried her hands. “Come on, you’ve been working all evening. I’ll bet you didn’t even eat dinner.”
Molly glanced around the kitchen as if gauging the amount of work still needing done. “I sat down at your table.”
“You didn’t touch the food on your plate.” He gripped her hand in his and tugged her toward the door, knowing he needed to get going, but not until he finished what he’d started with a real kiss.
Her cheeks turned a deeper shade of red. “Have you been watching me?”
“Not much. But enough to tell when a beautiful green-eyed blonde, with cheeks that can blush as brightly as a ripe peach, isn’t eating her meal.”
Her hand flew to her face. “I’m not blushing. It’s hot in here.”
He smiled, knowing better, but seizing an opportunity wherever he could find it. “Then we should step outside so that you can cool off. Come, cariña.”
By the time they emerged onto the porch, the ghost hunters and Nova’s teammates had reconvened in the lounge around a blazing fire.
Refusing to release Molly’s hand, Nova leaned against the rail, his back to the wall of fog that had crept in on the McGregor B&B. Like a cocooning, impenetrable shroud, the fog blocked the beautiful view of the cape. The only residual evidence of the ocean nearby was the soft splashing sound of waves slapping the rocks far below the cliffs.
Molly didn’t pull free, allowing him to lace his fingers with hers.
“I lied,” he began.
She stared at where their fingers wove together. “Oh? When?”
“When I said I didn’t watch you much.”
Her gaze rose to his. “Why me?”
He smiled. “I’m curioso.”
“Curious about what?” she whispered.
“I wanted to know one thing before I left.” He tugged her closer.
“Yeah?” She stopped when they were toe-to-toe. “And what’s that?”
“Just how good you taste.” He started his descent, his mouth angling toward hers.
Before he could get there, she raised a finger and planted it on his lips. “I take it you tend to live up to your name, Casanova.”
“On occasion.” His thumb brushed the hair from her cheek, then slipped across her lips.
“And you expect me to fall in with a little flirtation?”
Nova’s brows dipped. “A woman who is as bonita as you must have great passion.”
The color heightened in her cheeks. “Pretty words, Casanova. Do you always get your way with women?”
He hesitated only a moment, pushing his memories to the farthest corner of his mind, forcing his shoulders to lift in a casual shrug. “Mostly.” He gave her his sexiest smile. Again he swept in for the kiss. That was all he wanted. Then he could leave and never look back. Relationships were too complicated and he wasn’t staying. “Is it working?”
“Almost.” She pressed a finger to his lips again. “Except I know your type. Kiss and leave.”
“I never make promises I can’t keep. No strings, no false words of love or commitment. Just the truth. I find you hard to resist, and I want to kiss you. Tiene un problema with just one kiss?”
She tipped her head. Her gaze locked with his and then slid down to his mouth. “I guess I don’t have a problem with just one kiss. You’re leaving. As long as we’re both in agreement that a kiss means nothing, what do I have to lose?” Her free hand slipped behind his head and pulled him down so that their lips could meet. At first her mouth brushed lightly against his, then she flicked her tongue across the seam of his lips.
He opened to her and she swept in. His arms rose around her, pulling her against his body, rubbing her pelvis across the ridge of his fly. A groan rose up his throat and blended with her own.
A sound pulled Nova out of the kiss and he glanced in the direction it had come. The porch swing on the end of the veranda swayed on its chains as if a ghostly hand had set it in motion.
He tipped his head toward the swing. “I think your ghosts approve.”
Molly gazed that way, still standing in the circle of his arms. “Or disapprove.” She moved out of his arms, straightening her blouse. “Are you and Nicole heading to Seattle soon?”
“Trying to get rid of me already?” Nova checked his watch. “We’ll have to go in a few minutes.”
She nodded and stared toward the parking area, where cars lined up in front of the B&B, blurred by the murky mist. “Be careful on the drive up the coastline. The fog is wicked tonight. There’s bound to be a number of wrecks by those crazy enough to drive in it.” She stepped back and shoved a hand out. “Well, it was nice to meet you.”
Nova lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her open palm, then curled her fingers around it. “Save that for a lonely day. My plane flies out early in the morning. I have to go.” No commitment, no strings, Nova reminded himself when he wanted to pull her back into his arms and kiss her again.
Gabe stuck his head out the door. “Oh, there you are. Nicole was looking for you.”
“Tell her I’m ready when she is.”
Tazer, Creed, Emma, Kayla and Gabe stepped out onto the porch.
Creed held out his hand. “Sorry to see you go. I’m sure there’s more work piled up than we have people to work it. But duty calls.”
“Yes, it does.” Nova grabbed Creed’s hand and shook it, then dragged him into a bear hug. No time for anything but duty. Relationships were inadvisable, given the secrecy of their band of brothers. He shook hands with the men and hugged the women, saving Molly for last.
Gabe glanced around. “Now, where did Molly go? I’ll go get her.” He turned toward the door.
“Don’t. She’s busy and I need to get on the road.” Although he would have liked to see her one last time, with all the people around, it wouldn’t have been enough. One kiss should have sufficed. It had sparked a hunger for more instead of quenching his thirst. He’d be better off leaving than hanging around to see Molly again. What good would it do?
Tazer slung the strap of her purse over her shoulder. “Ready?”
“Ready.”
He